Naeem’s Soup Kitchen on Brickdam, Georgetown and the National Cultural Centre’s tarmac, Mandela Avenue saw a significant gathering on Tuesday, with pensioners and individuals with disabilities eagerly awaiting the distribution of one-off cash grants from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali had announced this initiative in early November, revealing that old-age pensioners would receive a $25,000 bonus for December, while persons with disabilities were set to receive a $35,000 bonus for the same period.
The majority of recipients of the grant noted that while the initiative is commendable, further actions should be taken to ensure a smooth process, especially for individuals with disabilities and the elderly.
Currently, residents from 14 communities have been scheduled to visit the location to collect their grants from December 5th to 7th.

In addition to this, individuals have suggested the computerization of their data, which would facilitate the process for both staff and individuals awaiting their grants.
At Naeem’s Kitchen, residents from four areas were scheduled to be there from December 1st to 5th, for their grants.

According to previous reports by this publication, President Ali had stated that these grants will benefit over 72,000 pensioners at a cost of $1.8 billion and 19,000 persons who are registered on the public assistance register at a cost of $660 million, all payable in December.
“These one-off bonus payments will benefit almost 160,000 persons and increase their disposable incomes by over $4.1 billion,” the President said.